Evaluation of injuries caused by anthropic action in snakes from Brazil

Abstract

Human behavior toward wild animals is defined by cultural influences and often is affected by lack of knowledge, mainly in situations of confrontation. The present study was conducted between 2008 and 2013, involving analysis of snakes that had suffered injuries belonging to the reptile collections of Centro Universitário de Lavras and Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora. The injuries were classified according to location on the body. Among the 449 specimens analyzed, 245 specimens showed injury to some part of the body. The nonvenomous snakes were the most representative and had a higher rate of injury (66.3%) than the venomous ones (18.2%). The body region where the greatest percentage of injuries was recorded was the anterior (39.6%), followed by the middle (36.5%) and posterior (8.4%). We believe this fact may have resulted due the lack of knowledge on how to differentiate species. Studies of the relationship between schooling level and contact with environmental education activities demonstrate reduction of attacks on these animals. This fact indicates that the preservation of many species is related to awareness and education of the population.Keywords: conservation of natural resources, environmental education, injuries, snakes. Avaliação das lesões causadas pela ação antrópica em serpentes do BrasilResumo O comportamento humano para com os animais selvagens é definido por influências culturais e muitas vezes é afetado por falta de conhecimento, principalmente em situações de confronto. Podendo levar à matança indiscriminada, consequentemente a um estado de declínio. O presente estudo foi realizado entre 2008 e 2013, envolvendo a análise de serpente que sofreram lesões pertencentes às coleções de répteis do Centro Universitário de Lavras e Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora. As lesões foram classificadas de acordo com a localização no corpo. Entre os 449 espécimes analisados, 245 mostram lesões. As serpentes não peçonhentas foram as mais representativas e apresentaram uma maior taxa de lesão (66,3%) do que os peçonhentos (18,2%). A região do corpo onde ocorreu a maior percentagem de lesões registada foi a anterior (39,6%), seguido pelo meio (36,5%) e posterior (8,4%). Acreditamos que este fato pode ter resultado devido a falta de conhecimento sobre como diferenciar espécies. Estudos sobre a relação entre nível de escolaridade e contato com atividades de educação ambiental demonstram redução dos ataques a esses animais. Este fato indica que a preservação de muitas espécies está relacionado à conscientização e educação da população.Palavras-chave: conservação de recursos naturais, educação ambiental, injúrias, serpentes.

Knowledge and interactions of the local community with the herpetofauna in the forest reserve of Quininí (Tibacuy-Cundinamarca, Colombia)

“…Men described mostly positive behaviors in response to interaction with amphibians and reptiles, tending to have few neutral behaviors in both groups. This indicates that, although snakes are perceived as dangerous animals, this usually does not lead to defensive behavior that implies the threat of species in the study region, a phenomenon previously reported in other parts of Latin America [2,45,71,73] where the conservation status of different species is put at risk by the effect of the controlling hunt and the use of this group of animals with magical-religious purposes. In contrast, women in the surveyed population tend to have more negative behaviors in the interaction with amphibians compared to reptiles.…”

“…However, this may be due to the difference in the classification of positive and neutral reactions, where the behavior of standing still or moving away is considered neutral for the interaction with amphibians, whereas it is positive for the interaction with reptiles. The above is based on the idea that possible positive behaviors towards reptiles (specifically snakes) do not consider transporting the animal to a safe place, due to its potential danger [71][72][73].…”

Knowledge and interactions of the local community with the herpetofauna in the forest reserve of Quininí (Tibacuy, Cundinamarca)

“…Men described mostly positive behaviors in response to interaction with amphibians and reptiles, tending to have few neutral behaviors in both groups. This indicates that, although snakes are perceived as dangerous animals, this usually does not lead to defensive behavior that implies the threat of species in the study region, a phenomenon previously reported in other parts of Latin America [72,74]. In contrast, women in the surveyed population tend to have more negative behaviors in the interaction with amphibians with respect to reptiles.…”

“…However, this may be due to the difference in the classification of positive and neutral reactions, where the behavior of standing still or moving away is considered neutral for interaction with amphibians, whereas it is positive for interaction with reptiles. The above is based on the idea that possible positive behaviors towards reptiles (specifically snakes) do not consider transporting the animal to a safe place, due to its potential danger [72–74].…”

Epidemiologia dos acidentes ofídicos registrados na vigilância epidemiológica no município de Rio Verde – Goiás, Brasil

“…As serpentes peçonhentas encontradas em território brasileiro, estão atualmente agrupadas em 6 gêneros: Bothrops, Lachesis, Botriopsis, Porthidium, Bothrocophias e Crotalus (Família Viperidae) e Micrurus (Família Elapidae) (Ávila et al, 2013;Fenker et al, 2014;Lomonte et al, 2016;Machado et al, 2020). No estado de Goiás foram registradas a ocorrência dos gêneros Bothropos (jararacas), Crotalus (cascavel) e Micrurus (corais verdadeiros), não havendo registro para Lachesis, Porthidium e Botriopsis, sendo estes dois últimos gêneros uma divisão do gênero Bothrops (Fenwick et al, 2009;Gouveia, et al, 2015).…”